


We can just dance to this

by Louis_Harry



Category: Football RPF
Genre: 3+1 Things, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Wedding, dumb boys in love, meddling teammates and friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-06-28 16:23:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louis_Harry/pseuds/Louis_Harry
Summary: Three times people around them thought that they were dating and one time Jesse and Marcus realized that they have in fact been dating the whole time.





	1. True or False?

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again...  
> I got inspired by the [August Prompt Set](https://footballprompts.tumblr.com/post/176505350117/august-prompt-set) on Tumblr and I immediately had some ideas for the Trope Prompt! 
> 
> There are way too little Jesse/Marcus fanfictions on here *cry*, which is why I decided to write this fic about them. And the prompt just fit perfectly. 
> 
> **Disclaimer:** English is not my native language so please excuse grammatical errors and spelling mistakes! Also, this is fiction and only happened inside of my head! 
> 
> The title of the fic is taken from [Dance To This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrMAfMbZOmg) by Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande. 
> 
> Again I got to say a HUGE THANK YOU to [JD](https://pummelpony.tumblr.com/) for reading over this and giving me so many great ideas!!!♥♥♥ Kussi Bussi an dich und deine Vorstellungen von einer perfekten Hochzeit :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the last-minute win against Tunisia some of the England players play 'True or False' in Ruben and Trent's room.

Hot water was beating down on Jesse's head and he let out a long sigh. Finally! He felt his joints relax for the first time in 24 hours and all the tension that he had built up during the hours before the game was leaving him and it felt damn good. He sighed again before he grabbed the shower gel and started to lather his body.

A few moments later, he heard the buzz of a key card and the hotel room door opened. It closed just as quickly and he heard Marcus’ steps coming closer, his shoes falling down with a clunk right outside the bathroom door. Damn Marcus and his habit to throw his shoes right in the way so that Jesse would surely stumble over them later.

He was back earlier than Jesse had expected. It had been barely fifteen minutes since Jesse had begged off staying in the common room to go and take a much-needed shower. Marcus had wanted to come with him right away, which had caused some of his teammates to laugh at them, as they were apparently “just as bad as a couple in their honeymoon-phase. Would an hour without the other really kill you?!”

So Marcus had stayed and had started to talk to Eric, but not without throwing Jesse one last look. Maybe he needed a shower now too. Surely, that was the reason and not some kind of co-dependency that some of the guys were going on about. They were best friends and best friends liked to hang out and do stuff together, right?

The bathroom door opened and Marcus entered the room, only clad in tight briefs. He didn’t look up, instead kept on scrolling through a list on his phone furiously. Only when he found what he had looked for did he focus his eyes on Jesse - or the parts Marcus could see through the steamed-up shower door.

“Well, well, well. Look who came back earlier. Missed me too much?” Jesse quipped from inside the shower. “Oh shu’ up” Marcus laughed just as Drake’s ‘Dreams Money can buy’ started to fill the room.

“I just couldn’t leave you alone. Who’s going to be your personal DJ then?” Marcus added. “You know me so well, buddy” Jesse answered and continued to condition his hair.

He was nearly finished now but the music made him want to stay for at least another hour. “If you use up all the hot water I’m gonna strangle you!” Marcus said over the music.

“Wanna see you try… 99 physicality boi, surely you remember that.” He made sure to shout the ‘99’. Marcus rewarded him with a tired sigh that was loud enough to be heard over the pounding water. 

Jesse took pity at that and turned off the shower a few moments later. He got out and quickly grabbed one of the towels Marcus – bless that boy - had laid out on a stool. Marcus and him changed places and if Jesse risked a small sideway glance at Marcus’ naked form well then that was his secret to keep.

They sang and laughed together and with every joke Jesse told that made Marcus laugh, he felt more and more calm and settled.

 

“Some of the boys are gonna play ‘True or False’ in Ruben’s and Trent’s room in a few minutes. Should we join?” Marcus asked as they were lying on their bed in their training shorts, both freshly showered and relaxed.

“Who’s playing?” Jesse mumbled, still engrossed in a stupid game he was playing on his phone. “Well, Ruben and Trent are gonna host it and I think a few of the guys from Tottenham wanted to come and Raheem, Kyle and Stones were also pretty hooked earlier.”

Jesse turned onto his side so he was facing Marcus. “Sounds cool. Tell them that we’ll come and stay for a while and then we turn in because I’m knackered.” “Yeah me too.” Marcus answered while digging through his pile of shirts in their wardrobe – which was actually Marcus' bed.

Jesse did the same thing on the other side of the bed and settled on a white Givenchy shirt. When he turned around to look at Marcus, his best friend was wearing the same shirt in black.

“You literally can’t be serious right now! You're jokin' me.” he said disbelievingly. Marcus only laughed and shrugged his shoulders. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to change, so Jesse said “Fuck it” and also kept the shirt on.

The boys already knew that Marcus was the biggest copycat to ever copycat and this would only be another piece of evidence in a never-ending list.

He ignored the warm feeling in his chest that he got whenever he saw Marcus in matching clothes. It was nothing.

 

They knocked on Ruben and Trent’s door a few minutes later and were let in by Kieran. “Look who turned up! Attached at the hip – as always.” he called out to the guys in the room. “You’re just jealous” Jesse shot back as he entered the room, Marcus right behind him.

“Well, who isn’t?” Eric winked from where he was sitting against the bed, Dele literally sitting on his lap with a smirk on his face. Fuckers! The rest of the boys howled with laughter and even Marcus had a small, somewhat fond smile on his face.

They sat down next to Ashley whose greeting consisted of looking at their matching shirts with a knowing smile. Jesse could only flip him off.

 

Kieran came back into the small circle they had formed in the front of the room. They were twelve people and Jesse knew right away that this group would be funny as fuck. He was glad that they started with the ‘True or False’ questions right away and didn’t talk about the match against Tunisia and their last minute win. He needed distraction if he wanted to sleep more than two hours tonight.

They began with some stupid questions (“You got nutmegged four times during training yesterday” “You pissed in the shower tonight” “You snuck a pack of haribo into your room”) that made everyone laugh, except for the person who had to answer them. Their first reaction was mostly to curse (in embarrassment).

Jesse always laughed with everyone, but he was much more preoccupied with the way in which Marcus’ thigh was touching his and the way in which Marcus’ fingers were drawing random shapes on his bare calf. It appeared as if Marcus didn’t even realize what he was doing until he felt goose-pimples under his fingertips.

“Oh sorry!” Marcus said absently and stopped. His hand stayed on Jesse's calf though.

 

Just as Jesse was about to ask Marcus if they could go up to their room now, Dele adressed him with a teasing smile: “Marcus and you make the sweetest couple. True or false? You better get this one right.” The room fell silent and all eyes were suddenly on him (and Marcus), trying to gauge their reaction.

For the first time in a long time, he felt like he couldn't talk. There was no quick and witty remark on his mind, it was just blankness. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Eric punching Dele's arm softly, a disapproving look on his face. Dele merely shrugged and focused his stare back at Jesse.

 

“What and why?” Jesse got out after a few more moments of collective silence. It wasn't the most thought-out thing he'd ever said but right now these words were they only ones he could muster up.

Marcus still hadn't shown any reaction at all, but that was Marcus sometimes; kind of closed off, pensive and watchful. He liked to analyse a situation before he reacted or showed any emotion. Jesse was much more impulsive in that regard.

Kyle was the first to speak up: “So should we tell you why you're 'hashtag relationship goals'?” “Enlighten them, Ky” John encouraged.

“Okay, number one-” he held up his left index finger for emphasis “I'm pretty sure that you share clothes all the time. Look at the two of you right now! You're wearing the same fucking shirt. That's hella corny. And even when you don't wear the exact same thing you match all the time. And you document it on snapchat or instagram for everyone to see.”

Jesse snorted at that and Marcus pinched him. “I just wanna say that I bought this shirt first” Marcus said. “Yeah but who saw it first huh beans? I was telling you how cool it looked and suddenly you snatched it from my hands and just bought it!” he argued back. He was definitely no copycat.

“Nuh-uh you liar. I saw it on insta before and then you were just faster in finding it there.” Marcus stuck out his tongue at him. “I'm not having that at all-” Jesse was just about to go on about how Marcus had the audacity to lie to everyone in the room when Kyle, who was repeatedly clearing his throat, pulled them out of their little bubble.

“I wanna go on, lovebirds” he said, sounding like Jesse’s teacher in fourth grade after he had caught them talking in class. “Anyway! Number two: In the group chat we have almost as many pics of you dozing or sleeping on each other as we got of Dele and Eric doing the same thing. That’s pretty suspicious!”

Dele was fast to pipe up: “But we’re still the number one couple here! Got that?” “Of course we are, Delboy-” Eric reassured him with a sweet smile. “Kyle called us relationship goals first, you remember?” he went on.

“Damn Dele, stop making everything about you!” John snickered. “This is about me and my relationship being the best” Dele shot back with a smirk. Nearly all the boys burst into laughter at that, except for Eric who rolled his eyes but tightened his hold on Dele.

Jesse looked at them until the laughter was dying down slowly. Not for the first time, he felt longing when he observed their behaviour towards each other. They still bantered most of the time, but then a flip switched and suddenly one of them kissed the other to shut them up or a tickling session ended in them kissing and cuddling on the floor or the sofa.  
Jesse badly wanted a relationship like that; full of laughter and fun but also with a lot of tenderness and caresses.

He looked at Marcus with a shy smile. His best friend seemed to watch Dele and Eric too. What was he thinking about them? Did he also envy them for the relationship they had?

“A penny for your thoughts?” Marcus whispered to him. The other boys had forgotten about them temporarily in favour of a small wrestling match between Ruben und Trent. They were fighting over who would get to sleep in the bed by the window.

“Oh…-“ Jesse answered with a small delay. “ ‘Just thinkin’ bout how _you_ always sleep on _me_ because you have a neck that won’t stay upright” He laughed. “You’re such a liar today! I’m pretty sure that the last few times you fell asleep on my because, and I quote: ‘I’m not tired beans! Just watch this funny video with me and I’ll leave you alone’. And then you fell asleep in the middle of it.” Marcus grinned triumphantly.

“Yeah… maybe. But before that it was always you!” Jesse wasn’t going to lose this argument either. “That was because your music was lame and I got bored”

Jesse jumped back as if he had just been burned, which he had been, just not literally. “Ouch! How dare you disrespect my superb taste in music like this? I’m wounded” he huffed out.

“N’awww” Marcus answered, no remorse in his voice whatsoever. Well, then Jesse would make him feel the remorse himself. He got closer to Marcus again and before Marcus could react, Jesse went for his waist.

Marcus’ waist was sensitive and it took Jesse only one well-placed pinch to make him scream. “No no no please no no!” Marcus was wheezing between his laughter, which in turn made Jesse laugh.

Marcus was desperately trying to push Jesse away and he was strong. Jesse knew that Marcus only needed one or two pushes to throw him off balance, so Jesse did the only logical thing to save himself: He sat down on top of Marcus’ abdomen, which left his best friend so surprised that he didn't put up a fight for the first few moments.

He was just lying there motionless, looking up at Jesse with wide eyes. Jesse heard and felt Marcus' every heartbeat and every breath that he took. It was hypnotizing.

He felt like time was standing still around the two of them and it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge to just lean down and kiss Marcus on the lips

Jesse thought back to Dele and Eric in the exact same position just yesterday after indoor training. Dele had pinned Eric down to the floor, both of them giggling breathlessly. Suddenly – without any warning – Dele had lowered his head to fit his lips against Eric's. Eric hadn't even hesitated before kissing back and putting his left hand on the back of Dele's head. Apparently, that had been an invitation for Dele, as he had gotten impossibly closer to his boyfriend. Jesse had averted his eyes after that. He really didn't need to see Dele and Eric snogging on the floor as if their life depended on it. No thanks!

He thought about Marcus' plush lips that looked so _soft_ and outright kissable. Right now, they were slightly parted and Jesse watched with rapt interest as Marcus wetted them with the tip of his tongue, while maintaining eye contact. Life was truly unfair and Marcus was a fucking tease.

Jesse was about to lean down and just do it – teammates be damned – as he felt Marcus’ fingertips digging into his side. For the first time, he was actually glad that Marcus bit his fingernails!

“Jess, you okay?” Marcus asked in a concerned tone of voice. Jesse wanted to scream ‘NO! Your lips are way too soft and you’re looking at me with your dumb and beautiful brown eyes with these unfairly long eyelashes. And I just want to kiss your huge cute nose and your cheeks and your _lips_! God these lips drive me crazy’

Instead of embarrassing himself even further in front of his best friend and about ten close teammates, he held back his thoughts and went with “A bit dizzy I think”.

Marcus seemed to be satisfied with that and answered: “Up you get old man! No more tickling fights for you today.” “Shut up!” Jesse giggled, but got up quickly. He pulled Marcus up by his hand and together, they settled back onto the floor.

 

“This is so going into various group chats!” Raheem cried out as the two of them finally looked up. All eyes and at least five phones were directed at them and their little ‘incident’. Oh, so now everyone was interested again. All right!

“This intervention is gonna take centuries with your constant squabbling. We’re gonna be quick now and I don’t want to be interrupted by anyone! That also applies to you Dele!” Kyle said in a serious tone while simultaneously winking at Dele. Dele flipped him off.

“Back to business” John scolded. “Aye, aye Captain Pencil” Eric threw in. Kyle rolled his eyes and continued where he had left off a few moments ago.

“Number three: I’m pretty sure that some higher being tied you two together with some kind of invisible cord. You’re always together and close and when you’re not then you-“ he pointed at Jesse “cry and pout about it in your snap or insta-story and a few minutes later Marcus is back at your side.” 

Marcus and him couldn’t even say anything in their defence, so they stayed quiet.

“They even arrive at training together more often than not” Ashley piped up. Jesse tried to give him a death glare, which only made the traitor laugh.

“I got one more piece of inside gossip, lads” Ashley added proudly. Every single one of Jesse’s (now ex-) friends straightened up. He would’ve laughed at that if he didn’t want to strangle Ashley right this second.

“Okay so, one time I overheard them arguing about whose turn at doing laundry it is” he said slowly. The meltdown that – predictably – followed consisted of cries like: “OH. MY. GOD.” “What? When?” and “Tell us more, Ash! Don’t leave us hangin’ like this!”. However, Ashley just sat back in satisfaction so that Jesse and Marcus had to pick up the pieces of his doing.

Jesse had just decided to ignore the whole thing by telling a lame excuse followed by a quick exit out of this hellhole when Marcus spoke up: “Okay no, I gotta set this right.” “You really don’t have to do this, Beans.” Jesse tried in vain to stop him.

“Okay, so sometimes after training-“ Ashley loudly coughed words that sounded suspiciously like ‘Twice a week’ “I spontaneously sleep over at Jesse’s and I don’t have anything comfy with me because it’s _spontaneous_.” Marcus threw him a dirty look.

“And that’s why I go to Jesse’s wardrobe and get some sweatpants and a shirt or something. The next morning, I put them into the laundry basket and then Jesse complains that he has to wash _my_ clothes too, but they’re actually his.”

The other guys had been quiet until now, intently listening to Marcus’ side of the story, but now more and more of them started to giggle quietly. For example Dele, who was stifling his noises into the fabric of Eric’s sweater.

“Okay, but why do you wear clothes only once before putting them into the laundry basket?” Kieran asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jesse felt like they were in the middle of some weird interrogation.

“Well, I used to put them back into his wardrobe, but then Jesse complained that they stank. So, I put them into the laundry basket but that’s wrong too. You can’t do anything right for him!” Marcus went on.

“Jesse what do you have to say to that accusation?” John asked him. “No comment” he answered in a serious voice.

No one had to know that he used to pick out the shirts Marcus had worn and had put them on to lounge on his couch the following day. They had just always put him at ease after a long day. Moreover, they’d been extra comfy somehow. But it wasn’t exactly best friends behaviour to put on your buddies used shirts.

Still, sometimes Jesse just couldn’t help himself and fished a t-shirt out of the basket while Marcus was already waiting in the car.

 

Marcus pulled him out of his thoughts by giving him a small nudge. “Are you spaced out again?” he asked softly. “I’m still dizzy and I’m tired” Jesse answered in a low voice. He was just so done with this day and the only thing he wanted was sleep.

Around him, his teammates were engrossed in other conversations again, only Marcus was watching him with a concerned look on his face.

Strangely enough, Eric was also looking at them from across the circle and as Jesse raised an eyebrow at him, he answered with a thumb-up and a shooing motion. Eric then started to attack Dele with kisses and a few seconds later, everyone was hooting and telling them to get a room.

Jesse immediately knew that this was their chance to leave the room discreetly. He took Marcus by the hand and they made their way out of the room quickly.

On the way to their bedroom, both of them were quiet. Certainly, Marcus was thinking about this weird interrogation slash intervention too. Jesse would definitely be thinking about it for a while.

 

They got ready for bed in a rush and Marcus seemed to notice that Jesse just wanted to lie down and sleep. When they had finally settled in their bed, it was Marcus (usually it was Jesse who started to talk in bed) who spoke up: “You’re the best best friend, you know Jess? I like us just how we are, I like what we do together and I like that we’re always having fun doing whatever we do. And I wouldn’t want to change the way we are together, you know?”

Jesse could only muster up a small smile. Yeah, they worked together just fine and had been doing so for nearly three years and he loved that Marcus was his best friend. 

However, Jesse felt a bit queasy, when he thought about the last part of Marcus’ little ‘speech’. Because it showed that Marcus wanted to be best friends, nothing more, nothing less. And that hurt Jesse more than it should. 

“Well yeah, of course we’re the best!” he answered belatedly and extended his hand to squeeze Marcus upper arm. Jesse was not going to make him feel shitty for only wanting to be best friends. 

Marcus laughed in that cute way which always caused Jesse’s knees to go weak. Now it only made him feel warm. And damn, he really was in too deep.

They exchanged Good nights and Marcus’ breath evened out quickly. Jesse laid awake for the next hour, but instead of thinking about the weird evening and the sting that Marcus last sentence had caused, he thought about his friendship with Marcus; how much Jesse enjoyed his company and his calm nature. There were only a few people, who could get him to relax completely and Marcus was one of them.

He didn’t want to think about how the other four people were his mom, his brother Louie and his childhood friends. Marcus just fit perfectly, didn’t he?


	2. Take a Picture of This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus, Jesse and Jesse's best friends spend part of their summer vacation in Miami again.

There were still moments where Jesse felt like he was back on the pitch of Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. He still felt the cold grass under his thighs and calves as he had sat there, utterly exhausted and _defeated_. 

He still cried, but only at night when his friends were sleeping in their own rooms. It was then that Jesse wandered the unfamiliar corridors of his rented LA villa or went out to the railing by the pool to look over the city. 

So yeah, losing in general really sucked, but losing the first world cup semi-final in 28 years sucked even more. 

During the day, his best friends did everything to distract him: they drove around LA and danced in the car, they went out to eat, they chilled or danced by the pool and they went to some parties in the evening. It worked and Jesse couldn’t complain at all. 

He met up with some of his England teammates, such as Danny Welbeck and Dele. The three of them shared a few funny stories from the England camp or smiled about finally winning a game on penalties, which was still sort of surreal. 

All of them shared the deep pain and that sort of anger that developed slowly, although they didn’t want it to. Anger was a bad thing, so they tried to let it out by going to a few boxing lessons together. It felt liberating. 

Jesse also exchanged messages with Marcus. They shared funny things that had happened to them over the day, like Marcus falling off the Jet Ski or Jesse dropping his extra phone into the pool while doing the Keke-Challenge. He could literally see the way in which Marcus was surely shaking his head. 

They facetimed nearly every day too and more often than not, Jamal, Louie or one of Marcus’ brothers joined in and they joked around for a while. It was great to see that his friends had accepted Marcus into their little circle so easily. 

What all of them didn’t know about were the few late night phone calls between the two of them. Although Jesse was three hours behind Marcus – who was chilling on Barbados before they’d link up in Miami – they managed to make it work. 

During the night, their conversations were more serious. They told each other how they’d been dealing with the disappointment and how hard it was to “just move on and look at what’s coming now”. 

It felt good to talk to someone who _got_ it, who had been there with him. Marcus didn’t judge him and he just repeated “We’ll go again, Jess” when Jesse was stuttering and sort of sobbing his way through some story, right on the edge of fully crying. But it was Marcus, so he wasn’t embarrassed. 

 

A few days later, Jesse and his friends flew to Miami, where they spent a part of their summer vacation every year. Just like last year, they had rented out a few suites in Fontainebleau Miami Beach. 

Marcus was already lounging on one of the double beds in their shared room, as Jesse opened the door. He quickly stood up and they greeted each other with a hug and their handshake. 

“Hey Jess! Everything alright?” Marcus asked him. “Yeah. The flight went well and I’m glad that we can keep up our tradition of coming here every summer.”  
Marcus laughed at that and proceeded to ask where the rest of the lads where. 

“They’re unpacking their things while gushing about the view here. Same as last year. We’re all on the same floor, but they’re a few rooms down the hall. We’re gonna meet at the bar in like thirty minutes” Jesse answered. 

Marcus hummed in response and got back onto the bed near the window. He patted the space next to him while looking at Jesse. “Quit standing around like that! I gotta show you a few vids… my brother actually caught me falling off the Jet Ski!” he laughed. 

Jesse took a run-up and jumped onto the bed, or more precisely half on top of his best friend. “Ufff… get off me!” Marcus called out. Jesse could only laugh but he had mercy on Marcus, so he sat down right next to him. 

For the next half an hour, the two of them watched videos of their individual holiday experiences and chatted a bit more about this and that. It was great to talk to each other in person again. 

 

After a while, a loud knock on the door interrupted them. “Oh, it’s the boys already.” Jesse said while jumping off the bed to open the door. Sunny, Louie and Jamal stood there, exchanging looks between them. 

“We thought we’d come here right away before waiting at the bar for you two to come down” Louie ‘greeted’ them. “I missed you too, bro” Marcus deadpanned, which resulted in Louie putting him into a headlock. 

“And I missed seeing you in real life instead of on Jesse’s small phone screen.” Louie answered with a cheeky wink. Marcus smiled sweetly and sent Louie an exaggerated air-kiss. And why couldn’t Marcus send him an air-kiss?

 

“Oh, you haven’t unpacked your stuff yet” Jamal pointed out, which got Jesse focused again. He rolled his eyes at that. Were his best friends also staging some sort of intervention for Marcus and him? 

“Well, Marcus had to show me a few clips and I had to update him too, so there was no time for that.” “Ah, I see.” Jamal answered. And was that bastard really smirking?! Unbelievable!

Before they could ask more stupid questions that he didn’t want to think about, Jesse lead the way downstairs: “Come on, boys. I reserved a lounge for us!” 

His friends followed dutifully and a few minutes later, they were sprawled out on three couches around a small glass table. 

 

The lounge was located on a huge terrace close to the bar. Long white cloths were put up between ceiling and floor to ensure a bit of privacy. A fan was quietly whirring over their heads and it made the hot air at least a bit bearable. 

The cool drinks also helped a lot and it didn’t take long for all of them to relax. Sunny and Louie napped for a while and the rest of them took advantage of their sleeping friends by recording short videos.

Jesse realized that Marcus had just fallen asleep, when Marcus’ head landed on his shoulder. The movement took him by surprise but he stayed as still as possible, so Marcus wouldn’t wake up. 

His best friend was still sort of sitting on the couch; his legs were touching the floor but his upper body was leaning towards the right, where Jesse was sitting. 

From his point of view, the position was looking a bit uncomfortable, but Marcus’ body was lax and his breaths were slow, so he was most definitely sleeping. 

It took less than ten seconds for his friends to notice that Marcus was sleeping with his head on Jesse’s shoulder… _(again)_. Sunny stood up quietly and went over to Marcus and Jesse’s couch to film, while Jamal and Louie were taking at least a hundred photos from the sofa opposite them. 

It was a huge spectacle for them and Jesse tried to look annoyed, but he couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face when he looked down at Marcus. He just looked very cute and just so _young_ when he was asleep. 

Sunny was back with the two other guys, certainly going through the pics of Marcus and him. Were these photos more interesting than the story he had just started to tell when Marcus had decided to fall asleep? He didn’t think so. 

Suddenly, his friends started to ‘aww’ quietly. “I’m betting both of you a hundred quid that Jesse’s going to put this as his lock screen!” Jamal said. “Well, that ain’t fair because we all know that he’s gonna use it!” Louie retorted. Sunny only nodded. 

“I feel left out, guys!” Jesse tried to get their attention. They didn’t look up from the phone and he was just thinking about waking Marcus up - so he could get at least one person to listen to him – when his phone vibrated to indicate the arrival of a new message. 

Jamal had sent the picture of Marcus and him, and yeah, that was 100 percent going to be his new lock screen picture. His friend had captured the moment when Jesse had looked down at Marcus’ sleeping form with a sweet smile on his face; his arm laid comfortably along the back of the sofa.

In the picture, Marcus was honest to god pouting a bit and he looked so serene. Jesse had to stop himself from cooing aloud.

“So what you thinking? Did I just take your new lock screen pic or not?” Jamal interrupted his thoughts. “Oh, don’t you get smug now. Nothing’s going to beat the view from the LA villa!” he shot back. 

“Not even your boy? Ouch. Be glad that he can’t hear you right now!” Louie laughed. “He is not my boy.” Jesse answered with as much conviction as possible. From the looks his friends were throwing him, they weren’t convinced at all. 

“Sorry for assuming, bro. I just thought that you two weren’t ready to tell us or something” Sunny stepped in. “Tell you what?” The heat was clearly fucking with his head. 

“Well, about your… uhm… relationship?” Sunny answered hesitantly. He gestured between Jesse and Marcus for emphasis. And Jesse had to have a heatstroke now because he was pretty sure that he was imagining this whole conversation. 

“Wait… do you think that Marcus is my boyfriend?” he questioned, clear disbelief in his voice. Although the word ‘boyfriend’ did have a nice ring to it, but that was something to think about in one of his sleepless nights. His three best friends nodded quickly. 

Jesse must’ve looked pretty terrified, because it didn’t take long for Jamal to start explaining: “It’s just that you two always share a room which isn’t suspicious in itself, but most of the time you also share _one_ bed, even when you have two.” 

“And you always go to take a shower at the same time and that just doesn’t work when there’s only one shower!” Sunny added. Jesse could only sigh. He was not going to explain the whole DJ-Thing Marcus and him had going on. Their rousing duets would stay between the two of them. 

“You also text him constantly, when you’re apart for more than a few days” Louie said. “Well, that’s an exaggeration!” Jesse piped up. 

His friends just looked at him in disbelief. “You facetimed or spoke on the phone literally every day! We have ears and eyes, Jess.” 

Yeah okay, they were a _bit_ co-dependent, but Jesse was just not used to not having Marcus close. They saw each other at training every day and two weeks of being on different continents were quite rare. 

He just missed everything about Marcus during those days. 

The admission, even only to himself, made him feel sick. But it was true: Jesse missed a lot of things when Marcus wasn’t with him. He missed the way Marcus laughed and the way he told a story, always touching Jesse to make sure he was still listening or looking into Jesse’s eyes to check for his reaction. 

He missed Marcus sitting next to him on the sofa, their legs touching and Marcus wearing his clothes. And he missed a million other things which became apparent whenever Marcus wasn’t with him. 

However, that didn’t have to mean that he wanted to be in a relationship with him, did it? He missed him because they were best friends – really good best friends.

 

“You okay bro? Hey!” Louie was suddenly next to him, voice laced with concern. And Jesse wasn’t okay, not at all. “I think I got a heatstroke…” he answered slowly. 

He was pretty sure that the heat was only one part of the reason why he was suddenly feeling so dizzy – the other part being pure panic because of his friends’ words – but you could never be cautious enough. 

Marcus was still fast asleep next to him, or more like: half on top of him and Jesse was already sorry for having to wake him up. 

“Oh shit! Let’s get you into your room. Jamal, can you ask for some ice packs at the bar or at the reception? And Sunny? Can you go up to their room and turn on the air-conditioning?” Louie directed his friends, who just nodded and went off. 

Jesse tried to wake up Marcus as careful as possible, but the movement still startled his best friend. “What’s up?” Marcus mumbled sleepily. 

“Jess has a heatstroke.” Louie answered. Marcus was much more awake after that. “What are you still doing here, Jess?! We have to get you up to our room!” Marcus urged. He jumped up from the couch and grabbed Jesse’s hands.

Jesse let himself be pulled up by Marcus and with one friend on each side, he made his way up to their room. During the walk, Marcus made sure to hold him close with a hand around his lower back, so Jesse could lean on him. 

Marcus also looked at him for nearly the whole time, checking for any signs of discomfort on his face. Jesse felt safe.

Sunny and Jamal were already in the room and both of them jumped up from the bed when they saw Jesse. For the next few minutes, all of his friends made sure that the room and the compresses were cold enough, and that he was drinking. 

All of them stayed in Marcus and Jesse’s room for the rest of the evening. 

 

At 1AM, Jamal, Sunny and Louie said ‘good night’ and left their room, but only after Marcus had promised to call them if Jesse started to feel bad again. 

Marcus didn’t take his eyes off Jesse while they got ready for bed. That constant observation should’ve been a bit creepy, but he felt cared for, so he let it slide. 

A few minutes later, they were lying in bed together; Jesse on his back and Marcus on his side, so he could watch Jesse. “I’m exhausted!” he said into the silence of the room. “Then sleep Jess” Marcus mumbled. He was so close that Jesse could feel Marcus’ breath on his skin.

“I _can’t_!” Jesse wailed and he knew that he sounded like a petulant child but it was the truth. His thoughts were running a mile a minute and he knew that he couldn’t fall asleep like that. 

Marcus sighed and turned onto his back. “Okay, give me your right hand” he said. Jesse didn’t hesitate to follow Marcus instruction. Marcus took Jesse’s hand and put it onto his naked chest, just over his heart. 

Jesse didn’t dare to move. “Just listen to my heartbeat, ‘kay? Try to concentrate on it. My mum did the same thing when I couldn’t sleep as a child and it really helped me.” Marcus said sheepishly. 

Jesse wanted to kiss him for – at least – the rest of the night, but he stayed still and just tried to do what Marcus had just told him. While Marcus’s heartbeat was calm and regular, his got faster and faster as he realized that he was touching his best friend’s chest. 

Jesse had done this before, but not in such an intimate way. He was touching only the _left_ side of his chest just to feel his heartbeat. The steady beating of Marcus’ heart finally calmed Jesse down and let him fall asleep – no thoughts, no panic, no worries. 

 

The next morning, he woke up at 10AM, feeling sharp. The compress on his forehead was pleasantly cold, which meant that Marcus must’ve changed it a while ago. There was also a fresh water bottle on his nightstand and he chugged nearly half of it right away. 

Then he looked around for Marcus. His best friend wasn’t in the room and Jesse was just about to send him a text, when he saw a pink post-it note next to his water bottle. ‘Will be back soon! Hope ur ok!! xxx’ was written on it in Marcus’ handwriting. 

Jesse quickly put the note into the space between phone case and phone, so no one could see it. He knew that Marcus used the x regularly while writing, but after the “talk” with his friends Jesse couldn’t help thinking that it had a deeper meaning. This was all his friends’ fault!

He was still lying in bed when the door opened and Marcus came – or more like struggled – in with a tray in his hands, loaded up with all kinds of food: fresh toast, jam, his favourite cereal, milk, fresh fruits and even pancakes. 

“You could’ve ordered room service, you know?” Jesse said with a big smile. “Thanks so much Marcus for walking down to the buffet for me and getting my favourite things for me! I owe you.” Marcus imitated Jesse while cautiously putting the tray down on the table out on the balcony. 

Jesse made his way over and pulled Marcus into a hug. “Thanks beans… for this and for yesterday as well!” Marcus only shrugged but squeezed him before he let go. 

The two of them took their time eating and Jesse was truly happy to relish the time together. 

 

About an hour later, his other friends came to check up on him and they all threw him suggestive looks. “Did you have a good time eating _breakfast_?” Jamal giggled, which set off Sunny and Louie too. 

Jesse was going to kill them. “Yeah I got Jess his favourite things for breakfast!” Marcus told them proudly. “Isn’t that sweet!” Louie cooed before breaking out in loud laughter. 

Marcus looked at him with a helpless and confused look whereat Jesse only shrugged. It was better if Marcus didn’t know about everything that had happened while he had been sleeping yesterday… at least for now. 

Later that day, as Marcus was on the toilet, Louie sat down next to him and said: “Told you that you two are dating. You’re just both too dumb to realize it.” He gave him a clap on the back for good measure and laughed again. 

And maybe (probably not) it was the remnant of the heatstroke slash panic speaking, but for the first time Jesse actually answered _**“Well, maybe we really are.”**_


	3. Does Your Mother Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse's mother rings the doorbell too early and Jesse's being dense.

Today was a good day. Not only did they have a training-free afternoon, but his mum was going to come over at around 6PM for dinner. Jesse loved to spend time with her, so whenever his schedule allowed it, he invited her and his younger siblings over. 

Tonight, Kirsty and him would get pizza delivered, but more often than not Jesse took her out to different restaurants around Manchester. His mum definitely deserved it.

 

The team finished training at 1.30PM on the dot. Jesse, Marcus and a few other players who couldn’t cook to save their life decided to eat in the canteen next to the training centre. 

He was tempted to set up yet another instagram poll, when he saw that Marcus had put ketchup onto his eggs... _again_. Jesse was sure that this time people would decide in his favour and not vote for the atrocity that was eggs with ketchup – disgusting. 

Still, Jesse couldn't help his smile when Marcus looked at him while chewing on his special 'combination', a knowing look in his eyes. He was way too whipped.

 

A bit later, Marcus and him were lying on his couch, Jesse having convinced Marcus to watch 'Click' (for probably the 100th time). It was just that the film evoked so many emotions in him and more often than not, a few tears would slip out too. 

And more often than not, Marcus would crawl over to his side and wipe them away with a small smile. It was whatever. It was not like he solely suggested the film because he hoped that Marcus would do it again this time.

After nearly an hour, Jesse could feel that they were getting closer and closer to the point in the film where he usually started crying, so he took a deep breath and tried to gradually inch closer to Marcus. 

They were already lying pretty close this time – Marcus was definitely within touching distance – but Jesse just needed to be a bit _closer_. He was just about to discreetly put his thigh up against Marcus' when his best friend caught him. 

“What 'you doin'?” Marcus mumbled, eyes trained on him now. Jesse felt his skin heating up and stuttered out an excuse about being antsy, which wasn't that unusual for him. 

Unusual was, that Marcus – instead of rolling his eyes and putting up with it – put his arm around Jesse and pulled him even closer, so that he was snug against Marcus' side. Jesse took the risk and put his head on Marcus' shoulder and his left arm on his chest. 

Marcus' eyes stayed intently focused on the film, so he was most likely okay with Jesse initiating even more body contact. Still, Jesse tried not to move or twitch just a little, lest Marcus moved away his arm from around him. 

It didn't take long for him to start sniffling at the scene playing out on the screen; Michael had just skipped ten years of his life and woke up to find himself the CEO of his company, wealthy and well-off but obese and divorced, having missed most of his children's childhood. 

The thought of just skipping or more like missing ten years of his life made Jesse feel sick, although he'd seen the film so many times before and knew the ending. He just couldn't help it. 

Next to him, Marcus' eyes were suspiciously red and glassy too. Jesse cuddled even closer as he saw the tears forming in Marcus' eyes. 

 

They were still lying in the same position when the credits started to roll, but both of them made no move to get up and bring a bit of distance between them. It was just way too comfortable and _warm_ in Marcus' arms. 

The fact that Marcus still hadn't moved during the credits made Jesse reckless, so that he buried his face into the sweater Marcus was wearing – it was one of Jesse's Gucci sweaters – and although it still smelled like his detergent, there was an underlying smell that was just Marcus, familiar and relaxing.

 

After a few more minutes the credits were over and the start page of Netflix appeared on the TV screen. They didn't move. 

Jesse slowly lifted his head from Marcus' shoulder and dared to look up at his best friend, who was looking back down at him in – what looked like – anticipation. 

Something in Marcus' look encouraged Jesse to bring his face that much closer to Marcus', so that their faces were nearly touching. They've never been _that_ close before. 

He felt Marcus' breath right above his mouth and instinctively closed his eyes. He was a sucker for the way in which a kiss could build up, exhilarating and intimate, no hurry at all. 

Should he throw caution to the winds and bridge the rest of the distance between them to kiss Marcus' soft lips? 

Jesse was sure – no, he _knew_ – that he wouldn't be able to stop once he had touched Marcus' lips, had tasted him and felt him move around him, so that his thoughts would consist of only _Marcus_. 

Jesse would want more, would want to feel, taste and smell Marcus again. Because Marcus was addictive. He knew that. However, he was ready to take that risk because Marcus made him feel brave and more importantly _safe_. 

Even if – and it was a big if – Marcus hadn't wanted to kiss him after all he would let Jesse down gently and then go back to normal. 

Yes, it would be awkward for a few days, but then Marcus would 'accidentally' turn up to training with the exact same shirt and Jesse would give him shit for it and they would laugh about it. 

And Jesse would move on, would bury his hopes of them being more than “just” friends. He would. 

 

Jesse was just about to close the remaining distance between them, when the doorbell rang. He would've screamed if he wasn't still only centimetres apart from Marcus. 

The moment was officially ruined and Marcus and him jumped apart as if they'd been burned. Jesse would've laughed if he wasn't so angry at that doorbell right now. “Sorry for that.” he said while passing Marcus on his way to open the damn door. 

Marcus didn't answer, just kept frantically looking for his phone in the gap between two sofa cushions. It must've gotten stuck down there. 

“Jess honey, what's taking so long in there? Everything okay?” he heard his mother's voice from outside, right as the doorbell rang again. “Comin'” he called, sprinting the rest of the way to the door. 

Jesse opened it and was embraced by his mum right away. He hugged her back tightly, because although she'd interrupted Marcus and him, he was still incredibly happy to see her. He was a big momma's boy after all and he was proud of it. 

“I know that I'm a bit early, but Daisy wanted to meet up with some friends and so I thought 'Might as well just go to my son right away'.” Kirsty explained while making her way into the entrance hall. 

“And well, I thought that you were still in training but then I saw your car in the driveway and – oh hello Marcus!” she interrupted her story to greet Marcus, who looked like he was ready to leave. 

“Oh hey, Kirsty. How are you? I'm really sorry that I can't stay, but I sort of lost track of time and I... uhm... gotta meet up with my uhm... brother soon. So sorry, I guess I'll see you around.” Marcus stuttered, all while avoiding the concerned looks Jesse was throwing him. 

Marcus threw one last smile at Kirsty, who was looking him up and down, and then walked out of the door, totally ignoring Jesse. He was pretty sure that the hurt was written in his face.

Halfway down the driveway Marcus suddenly turned around and called out “Bye Jess! See you tomorrow.” before quickly getting into his car and driving off. 

 

“He must've been in a real hurry. I've never seen him like that! He didn't even have time to properly say goodbye to you.” Kirsty said into the silence. Jesse was still too stunned to get out a word, which had never happened before, at least that he could think of. 

“And wasn't he wearing your clothes too? I'm pretty sure that I got you that shirt for Christmas last year and the sweatpants were so short and tight on him...” she went on, closing the front door because Jesse still hadn't moved. 

Kirsty made her way into the living room, Jesse following behind her, where she saw a pile of clothes on the pillow in the corner of the couch. “Oh! Are these his clothes? Seems like he forgot them in his hurry” she asked her son. 

Jesse let out an embarrassed chuckle and quickly shoved Marcus' clothes under one of the blankets which were lying around. Oh god, why did his mother have to arrive earlier today of all days? 

“Uhm, yeah... he sort of always takes some of my clothes when we hang here after training and usually he puts them in the laundry basket although he has only worn them for a few hours and – right... take out, we need take out _right now_ ” he explained hastily, trying to steer the conversation to another subject. 

 

“I should've just called before coming here unannounced. You're a grown man after all and I just didn't think that you may have invited someone over. And I should've put one and one together when I saw the second car in your driveway. I'm sorry for just... barging in here.” his mum apologized. 

And was Jesse misinterpreting her words right now or did his mother really think that she had interrupted them while messing around or something? Okay, the clothes were a bit suspicious but she knew that Marcus and him were (officially) best friends, nothing more. 

“We were only playing _FIFA_ , mum!” Jesse stressed. “You didn't interrupt anything, you know.” he added with a bit of pressure. Kirsty looked around the empty couch and equally empty coffee table – void of any game controllers – and decided to let it slide. 

“Anyway, why don't you order some Pizza for us darlin'? Tuna and mushrooms for me, please-” she offered and promptly went on “and meanwhile I'm gonna tidy up your living room a bit.” She looked around with a slightly disapproving look. 

Jesse nodded and then thanked her with a kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen, away from his mother's partly questioning, partly knowing looks. After everything that had happened before his mother had come in, he just needed a little breather. 

 

While Kirsty was puttering around in the other room, Jesse couldn't help his thoughts returning to the 'almost kiss' between Marcus and him. 

Because a kiss (or preferably many) would've happened if his mum hadn't arrived early for the first time in her life. And more importantly: it was what Jesse had _wanted_ to do. He couldn't remember ever wishing and hoping to kiss someone that bad. 

Yeah, he has had crushes before and he imagined what kissing them was like, when he was lying in bed, not thinking about football for a few minutes. 

But it had never been that hard to _not_ think about kissing someone as it had been in the last few weeks and maybe months. Whenever Marcus talked to him and his plush lips moved or smiled at him with that ridiculous 1000 watt smile he just couldn't help himself. 

And a few minutes ago, he had come so close to making his wish come true and now he didn't know, when or if he'd get the opportunity ever again. 

What if Marcus told Jesse that he didn't want to be friends tomorrow? What if he had felt uncomfortable with Jesse lying literally on top of him and smelling him – for fucks sake? Oh god, what if Jesse had taken advantage of the trust Marcus had in him? 

He was a terrible, terrible friend and he needed to apologize to Marcus as soon as possible or even better: _right now_. He jogged into the living room to grab his phone because of course this was the first time he hadn't had it with him in years. 

Kirsty got a hold of him when he walked past her and promptly pulled him into a hug and swayed them from side to side. “My boy, always on the run. You could never sit still, you know? Kept all of us on our toes because we had to make sure that you wouldn't run away” she laughed softly. 

Jesse rolled his eyes and sighed but hugged his mum back hard and put his head on her shoulder. He focused on the familiar smell of her and calmed down. 

Slowly, Jesse freed himself from her embrace and found Kirsty looking at him with concerned eyes. “I'm okay” he said and it wasn't convincing at all, but she stayed quiet. 

“I already ordered our pizza” his mum said, just as Jesse was about to dial the number. “You're a bit distracted today, huh?” she added with a small smile.  
He decided not to comment and the two of them watched a bit of TV while waiting. Jesse tried really hard not to think about what had happened on that couch more than an hour ago, he really did. 

But when he closed his eyes and leaned his head onto his mum's shoulder, he started to think about Marcus and how comfortable he had been in his arms. 

Jesse hadn't even felt the need to check his phone or to get up and do god knows what. No, he had felt settled, unhurried even. Like there was no place he'd rather be. 

 

The doorbell pulled Jesse out of his daydreaming and he jumped up and hurried to open the door. A teenager was standing there with two pizza boxes and a star-struck look on his face. 

Jesse mustered up a smile and sent the boy on his way with a huge tip, an autograph and a selfie of the two of them. He felt a bit better knowing that he had just made someone's day. 

Kirsty and him settled at the dining table and started to eat their greasy pizza. It was exactly what Jesse needed after a day like this. 

“Has Marcus texted you after he had to leave so fast?” Kirsty asked, totally out of the blue. Jesse wanted to bang his head onto the table at the mention of Marcus' name. He wasn't ready to hear his name yet. 

“We're not in contact constantly, you know. It's not like we're one of these co-dependent couples... we're not even a couple.” Jesse answered, an defensive edge to his voice. 

He was just so _tired_ of his friends and now his family asking if or implying that something was going on between the two of them. And every time, Jesse had to answer 'No we're just best friends' although he wanted to say that they were more than that. 

“Oh darling, I didn't want to assume anything!” Kirsty said softly. “It's just great that you two have each other. I can only imagine the kind of people who are part of the whole football business.” her voice got harder. 

“And I can see that your boy has a good heart. He truly cares for you and you care for him and that's the most important thing! Louie, me and your siblings, we aren't always there for you before or after matches, but I feel better when I know that you have someone with you.” while talking, she took his hand and squeezed it. 

Jesse returned the gesture and smiled at her. So now he knew that his mum would definitely approve of Marcus _if_ they got together. Good to know. 

“Yeah, he's just great” he got out, not sounding like a lovesick teenager at all. _Nope_.  
He also ignored his mother's knowing look.

 

They ate the rest of the pizza in silence and Kirsty stayed for a bit longer after that, but around 9.30PM she decided to leave Jesse alone for the rest of the night. His thoughts were clearly elsewhere. 

Jesse's resolve not to call or text Marcus tonight crumbled at 10PM. He opened their chat and wrote 'Wht u doin? R u ok?'. Now he just had to wait for Marcus' answer, if he answered anything at all. 

Maybe Marcus would just ignore it, because he had always been utterly shit at texting back. Marcus not responding didn't have to mean anything bad. It was normal. 

At least that was what Jesse told himself when Marcus still hadn't answered his questions two hours later. Jesse knew that he should be sleeping, but he just _couldn't_. The fear that Marcus wouldn't want anything to do with him after today weighed heavy. 

He just couldn't imagine his life without Marcus in it any more and he didn't want to think about a life void of Marcus; his talents, his quirks, the habits that drove Jesse crazy and so much more. Without him, life would be dull. 

Just as Jesse was about to frustratingly throw his phone against the wall opposite him, a 'ping' indicated a new message – from Marcus. He had never opened a new message that fast before. 

'I'm ok. We should talk though... sleep tight and see u tmrw .xxx pick u up at 8.30?' Jesse breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed like everything was okay between them. Yes, they still needed to talk as soon as possible but Marcus wanted to spend time with him, just the two of them in a car and that had to be a positive sign. 

There were also the three x's that he didn't want to think about too much. 

'Go 2 bed now! Gonna be ready at 8:30 sharp promise' he replied and promptly got the answer 'Ur never ready .x' 

Jesse didn't even want to think about all the possible meanings of that message, so he put his phone aside and closed his eyes. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep after that. 

Tomorrow was an exciting day after all. 

 

The _talk_ , that they so clearly needed to have, didn't happen until exactly eight days after the day that Jesse now referred to as 'meltdown' whenever he thought about it (which was every day). 

It was just that daily training, two games and a few other things had come up and there had never been enough time to sit down for an hour or so and just talk. This was important to Jesse, so he didn't want to sandwich their heart-to-heart in between other appointments. 

There had also been the issue with the wedding invitation from an old football buddy named Josh, who Jesse had gotten to know during a training camp when he'd been 19. 

The invitation had been lying on his couch table one afternoon and Louie had said that Jesse had been invited to a wedding, which would take place in exactly five weeks – everything surrounding the wedding had been 'very short notice' according to the soon to be married couple. 

And yes he had no commitments that day, thanks to Louie postponing a semi-important appointment to another day. “Don't worry bro. Enjoy the wedding! That appointment won't walk away.” 

He had stared at that invitation for literal hours during the last few days and his eyes had always been stuck on the golden “Name of your plus one:”, written in beautiful cursive letters. 

Jesse had traced along them more often than he could count on his hands. 

And then, the evening before their day-off, the day of their _talk_ , Jesse had hastily written 'Marcus Rashford' onto the line next to it. He knew that Marcus was too young to have come in contact with Josh, so he surely hadn't gotten invited. 

It had been a knee-jerk reaction and Jesse had wanted to cross out the name right away, but instead he had just shoved the invitation, including his pen, under one of his pillows and had gone to sleep. 

 

The next day, Marcus and him were sat on his couch, an empty pizza box from Domino's between them and the wedding invitation from Josh in Jesse's left hand. If they were going to talk, Jesse should at least tell Marcus that he wanted him as a plus one at a wedding. 

It didn't have to mean anything. They were best friends going to a wedding, which definitely was what Marcus wanted. Jesse was sure of that. 

Jesse _knew_ Marcus and he could read him pretty well (or so he thought) and his behaviour during the last few days could only be described as 'I'm letting you down gently because I'm one of the nicest people on earth and I don't want to hurt you'. Marcus had even made the effort to smile at him more than ever before, which had only reinforced his theory. 

But on the other hand, Marcus had been walking on eggshells around him since the incident and although they had still spent most of their time together, it just hadn't felt as easy and effortless as before. And no matter how many times Marcus laughed or smiled at him, there had still been an unusual tension between them.

And sure, Jesse hadn't acted as touchy-feely in the last few days, but he'd taken that step back for Marcus! Because Marcus wasn't interested in him and Jesse wanted to show him that he was capable of acting strictly platonic – no more 'almost kissing' or 'couple cuddling on the couch'. He could do that.

 

“You wanted to tell me something?” Marcus asked into the silence between them. Jesse's hand had started to play around with the envelope of the wedding invitation. It was a nervous habit of him, giving his hands something to do so they wouldn't shake. 

“Yeah I just wanted to say sorry for... uhm... you know” Jesse started in a small voice and damn it why was talking so hard all of the sudden? “You know me and you know that I... uhm often don't think before I do something... uhm and that happened that day. And I'm sorry for... overstepping, yeah.” he stopped and looked at Marcus. 

Instead of looking relieved at the explanation and apology, Marcus was frowning, his eyebrows drawn close. “I wasn't uncomfortable, Jess. I would've said something, you know. I can actually speak up for myself.” he answered, a hard and kind of persisting edge to his voice. 

“You don't have to lie to me! I can take a hint and you running away after it... I got it, okay?” Jesse got out. During the week, he had thought about the scene on the couch again and again, searching for signs that Marcus had been uncomfortable. And the more he had thought about it, the more convinced he had become. But now Marcus said that he hadn't been uncomfortable and Jesse was back to square one. It was unnerving.

Thank god he had that envelope to keep his hands busy. 

Marcus released a long-suffering sigh and his voice sounded tired when he said: “...You're just so dumb sometimes. Anyway, what's in that envelope?” Marcus pointed at the invitation in Jesse's hand. 

“Oh that? That's a wedding invitation from an old football friend. And the wedding's on 4th November, it's quite soon.” he answered, trying to keep his voice nonchalant. 

“That's cool! Do I know him?” “Nah, you're a bit too young. I met Josh when I was 19 or 20 and now we just text sometimes.” Okay, now he only needed to tell Marcus that he was Jesse's plus one – at least on paper. 

“Okay, then let me at least see the invitation. I wanna see where they'll celebrate their big day!” Marcus said excitedly and promptly took the envelope from where it was lying on Jesse's thigh. 

He opened it quickly and got out the card. Jesse could just look on from his seat next to Marcus. It could be easier for Jesse if Marcus found out about his 'fate' himself. 

His best friend was still looking at the front page of the invitation, where a photo of the happy couple was displayed. 'The day of the engagement' was written under the picture in golden letters. Marcus was looking down at the picture with a smile.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marcus turned the card over and started to read over the details of the wedding reception. Jesse focused his look on Marcus' face to be able to catch his reaction to the plus one. 

Jesse knew right away that Marcus had read his name, as Marcus' eyebrows drew together and his mouth opened slightly. He seemed a bit shocked. 

It took a few more seconds for him to speak up: “You want me to be your plus one at that wedding?” he asked, clear disbelief in his voice. “Well, only if you're not busy. It's short notice after all and I shouldn't have assumed that you were free that day and-” Jesse started to ramble but Marcus interrupted him with a small knock on the upper arm. 

“Shut up. Of course I'm coming with you. I wouldn't miss this!” Marcus said excitedly and got closer to him to put his arm around Jesse's shoulder. Jesse felt a weight lift off his shoulders at that. He hadn't expected Marcus to be this enthusiastic at the prospect of being Jesse's plus one, but he wasn't complaining. 

“Weddings are the best place to meet new people, you know.” Jesse nudged Marcus and gave him an exaggerated wink. He wanted to show Marcus that he could be a supportive best mate despite his obvious interest. Marcus face fell instantly and when he answered with an “Oh yeah, of course. Didn't think of that” it sounded small and also kind of... sad. 

And why was he sad when Jesse had just offered to be his wingman? He was a great wingman, thank you very much. And for Marcus he would be the best wingman EVER. 

The ensuing silence felt stifling and Jesse felt uneasy, so he got up. “Louie's coming soon. You wanna stay?” he asked, only to have _anything_ to fill the silence. Marcus declined with a shake of his head and got up too. 

“No, I'm meeting up with... my mum. I promised her.” he explained. And Jesse understood it, he really did, but he wanted Marcus to stay until they've resolved that 'thing' between them, because right now it felt like they were back to square one with the way in which Marcus was basically running off... _again_. 

Where did their talk go wrong? 

“Are we okay?” Jesse asked, not bothering to hide how desperate he sounded. “Of course we are, Jess. You're still super dense but I'm looking forward to the wedding. See you tomorrow.” Marcus answered softly, and in no time at all he was out the door, walking towards his car. 

Jesse watched him drive off.


	4. Push up on my body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus and Jesse go to a wedding together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here!!! I'm soso sorry that it took this long to finish the last chapter, but I hope that the ca. 10.2k words are a sufficient apology♥ Have fun with this one!!
> 
> I want to thank every single person who already gave a kudos, commented or bookmarked the fic!!! It makes me really happy to see all the support the fic gets. A big 'thank you' also goes to everyone on tumblr who reblogged/liked the post and left a comment/tag beneath!!! And of course the anons who came into my inbox to compliment the fic/ask about its progress. Love you all!!♥♥
> 
> I also have to mention [JD](https://pummelpony.tumblr.com/) again, because she helped me soo much and had so many great ideas and suggestions for improvements. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!♥♥♥♥♥
> 
> Disclaimer: The figure 'sixty-five percent of people over twenty have already met their partner for life' is fake. I made it up for reasons.

"Josh, do you take Lydia to be your wife? Do you promise to be faithful to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her and to honor her all the days of your life?" the voice of the priest rang out through the small church. "I do." Josh answered right away, his voice wobbling a bit, but still sounding so strong and sure. All around Jesse, people were sniffling and holding tissues to their eyes. Weddings were quite the emotional affair. 

Jesse's eyes were damp too, and he wiped away a small tear that had just formed in the corner of his eye. Next to him, Marcus wasn't that much better off, as he was blowing his nose for the fifth time in less than half an hour. Jesse gave his thigh a small, reassuring squeeze – which brought a smile to Marcus' face – and then let go again. 

He glanced over to Dele and Eric, who were sitting next to Marcus. Jesse could see the tears on Eric's cheek, could see how they were making their way down. And while Dele wasn't openly tearing up, he was alternating between stroking Eric's hair (or what was left of it after the last 'trim') and wiping his tears away with careful touches. Jesse assumed that it was Dele's way of showing his emotions, while at the same time comforting his partner. 

It was beautiful to watch, but Jesse also felt a bit like he was intruding on such an intimate moment by watching them. After a few more seconds, he finally succeeded in tearing his eyes away from them and towards the bride and groom again. 

The priest was just asking Lydia the same question: "Lydia, do you take Josh to be your husband? Do you promise to be faithful to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and to honor him all the days of your life?" Lydia sounded just as sure as Josh when she answered "I do."

There was loud applause from all the guests. Josh and Lydia smiled at each other and Josh reached out to caress her cheek. At the request of the priest, they exchanged the wedding rings (Josh's niece had brought them just before the speech) with shaking hands. And then – finally – they were allowed to kiss each other for the first time as husband and wife. 

Everyone was on their feet, applauding the married couple. It didn't cease for more than a minute, as Lydia and Josh just couldn't stop kissing each other – if you could even call it kissing – with huge smiles on their faces. 

While watching them, Jesse felt a pang of envy. He just wanted what they had with someone, _maybe_ even with the person next to him, who was clapping his hands and watching the bride and groom with the biggest smile. Jesse just wanted to love and be loved, as cheesy as it sounded. 

 

After a few more minutes, the wedding march started to play and the newlyweds made their way down the aisle as the guests all stood up and threw the rose petals they'd gotten before the ceremony towards the couple. It looked amazing from where Jesse was standing and soon enough, the families of the couple started to make their way out as well, probably to take pictures outside. 

Dele, Eric, Marcus and him had agreed to wait a bit longer to avoid the traffic outside, so they sat down again and let the other people filter out of the church. May they have fun dealing with the chaos outside. They were going to have to wait at the wedding reception anyways, because Josh and Lydia were getting their photos taken and that could take a while. 

"Let's take a selfie while we're still looking decent enough." Dele suggested. "Can you take it, Jesse? That way I can cover part of Eric's suit and hide the fact that it doesn't fit." he added with a mischievous grin. Eric sighed loudly and pulled Dele closer with the arm around his shoulder. 

"Oh, so _that's_ why you wouldn't let me get out of the car earlier? Too busy with fixing what could be fixed, right?" Eric answered in a low voice, Dele promptly burying his face against Eric's shoulder. And _nope_ , Jesse didn't need to hear a word in that suggestive tone ever again. He wanted to leave. Marcus and him should've sat with Kieran and Kyle and not with these two horny lovebirds. 

"You're gonna need a suit that fits you for our wedding" Dele changed the topic and smiled sweetly at his boyfriend. "Well I got you to make sure of that, don't I?" Eric was quick to answer and gave him a peck. Dele reciprocated by giving Eric a kiss on the cheek and Jesse just wanted to take that damn selfie and get out of there before the they inevitably started snogging. 

He looked at Marcus for help, but his friend was seemingly mesmerized by Dele and Eric's interaction. "You two are so cute!" Marcus said, his voice a bit hesitant. 

"I'm the only cute one in our relationship, but thanks for the compliment." Dele smiled while squeezing Eric's thigh. 

Marcus and him shared an eye roll at that and started laughing. Typical Dele right there. 

However, Jesse couldn't help hoping that he'd also be part of a disgustingly cute couple one day, so that other people would roll their eyes at his partner and him. 

 

After more squabbling about positions and the 'quality of light' (Dele's words not his) inside the church, they agreed to take the selfie outside and then leave for the venue after. 

Jesse got out of the pew first and waited for his friends. Marcus was next and as he got up he started to complain about the tingling feeling in his leg from sitting in one position for too long and how weird it felt. 

And Jesse _knew_ that a bit of tingling was not worrying at all – it'd be over in a few seconds – but he still hurried to put a comforting hand around Marcus' waist and pulled him closer. At that, Marcus put his arm around Jesse's shoulder and smiled at him. Well, now Jesse's feet were feeling a bit unsteady. 

The two of them walked out of the church like that, having forgotten all about Dele and Eric, who were a few paces behind them. Jesse could hear them giggling, but he didn't turn around. They were probably laughing about their weird 'inside jokes' that weren't even funny. 

Dele and Eric used the opportunity to take a few sneaky pictures of them and then caught up. 

Outside, the chaos had cleared up, so they finally took a quick selfie – Dele making sure that most of Eric's suit was hidden behind him – and made their way to Eric's car. Unfortunately, Marcus' Range Rover had broken down near Birmingham, so they had taken a cab to the church and asked Eric to give them a lift to the venue of the wedding party. 

"I'm so glad that Cisko and Clay are with your brother today! Otherwise I'd have to sit in the back too." Dele told all of them, while getting into the front seat. "Clay always feels sick when he sits in the back." Eric replied with a shake of his head. "They're just spoiled, babe." Dele put his hand on Eric's thigh. "You gotta spoil me more!" he added with a wink and was rewarded with a snort by Eric. 

In the back of the car, Jesse and Marcus exchanged a look and pretended to gag. They were on the same page here. 

 

They'd been driving in comfortable silence for a few minutes, when Eric spoke up: "Guys, that wedding somehow reminds me of an article I read a few days ago. It talks about the connection between friendships and romantic relationships and the importance of a stable friendship within a romantic relationship. One thing that really got me was, that according to that article, sixty-five percent of people between 20 and 25 years have already met or at least seen their future partner somewhere. Isn't that crazy? Kinda can't stop thinking about it." 

Dele turned in his seat, so that he was facing Marcus and him. "Isn't that _mind-blowing_ , lads? Wow!" he said and winked at them. No one had ever said that Dele was one for subtlety.

Jesse rolled his eyes but started to nod, because it was pretty crazy when he thought about that figure, regardless of its accuracy. Who knew how some scientists had even calculated that percentage. 

Just as Jesse was about to question the statement, Marcus spoke up: "Well, I believe it. It's not that far-fetched if you ask me..." "Why?" The disbelief was clear in Jesse's voice. 

"I gotta admit that I'm mainly thinking about my... uhm... situation. But I'm 21 and... well... I think that I've already found my future partner. Hopefully, that is. I just feel like that person and I, we'd _fit_ , you know? And look at all the other couples around, some of them are getting married or they're at least thinking about it." Marcus was fidgeting with his hands, but looked right at Jesse with a small smile. 

Jesse could only open his mouth to then close it again a few seconds later. He was shocked and he didn't know how to act as if Marcus' words didn't hit him _hard_. Until a few minutes ago, he had thought that Marcus and him talked about everything, including their love interests. Only to now learn that Marcus already had a future partner in mind and talked about how well they'd fit and everything. So Marcus had to know that person pretty well. Jesse wanted to throw up. 

In the front, Dele and Eric were suspiciously quiet too. However, Jesse saw how the way they were exchanging small glances, no doubt having a silent conversation with their eyes. 

"Okay, but why haven't you told me about that? I'm one of your best friends and I find out about it while you're talking about an article. I tell you everything about my crushes and I thought you'd do the same..." he got out, making no effort to hide the betrayal and hurt in his voice. Marcus had assured him over and over that everything was fine between them and Jesse had believed him – naively as it now turned out. 

Marcus opened his mouth but then shook his head and – obviously done with their "conversation" – turned towards his window and watched the countryside fly by, effectively ignoring the way Jesse was staring at him. And okay, that was an answer as well. 

Jesse had to accept that, as much as it pained him to get properly ignored by _Marcus_ of all people. 

The tension quickly spread to the front as well and in an attempt to lighten the mood, Dele turned up the radio and (badly) sang along to 'I wanna dance with somebody' and 'Fake Love' (and yes the radio hated Jesse too) for the rest of the drive. Every other day Jesse would've joined in right away but today he couldn't wait to get out of the car. 

 

The [venue](https://www.google.com/search?q=chateau+impney+hotel&hl=de&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj52PG3iPreAhUSYVAKHV0_AbEQ_AUIDygC&biw=1600&bih=764) – a ['chateau'](https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-venues/chateau-impney-hotel_6932.htm) as John had called it in a text message – was absolutely stunning, akin to a palace right out of a princess fairytale. That was Jesse's first thought, as he saw the red bricks, the ornate balconies and the beautiful white stucco around the windows on the upper level of the chateau. The roof looked a bit weathered, but that somehow made the whole building even more charming. You felt transported back in time. 

The gravel road took them closer and closer and soon enough the four of them were gushing about the big, grandiose fountain with the statue in front of the chateau and all the perfectly trimmed trees, shrubs and other different plants. Even now, in November, the gardens looked perfect. In fact, everything did. 

Eric drove towards the back of the chateau and as they caught sight of the gardens back there, only one word was adequate to describe the almost never ending parkland: _**Wow.**_

Marcus then spotted a pond with a quaint bridge leading over it and at least two other fountains and they really couldn't stop marveling at everything they were seeing, wildly taking photos out of their windows like tourists on one of these sightseeing tour buses. Jesse never wanted to leave this place and one look at his friends told him that they wanted to stay here for a long time too. 

Now he was even more excited to spend the night here. The bride and groom had given every guest the possibility to spend the night in one of the 106 luxurious en-suite bedrooms the chateau had to offer. Marcus and him had agreed to the offer right away and John had secured them one of the rooms with a balcony and a view of the gardens and rolling parkland. Jackpot!

But who knew if Marcus even wanted to sleep in the same room as him tonight. Maybe he would find someone else to share a room with, as much as that thought pained Jesse. He really had to try and get his feelings under control if he wanted to stay friends with Marcus. 

 

When Eric turned off the engine and got out of the car, Jesse was fully transported back to reality, back to his 'argument' with Marcus. His best friend hadn't really looked at him during the rest of the drive, which was so out of the ordinary for them. Usually, they'd talk nonsense, laughing about the things they were saying while the people around them just left them in their little bubble.

Not even a fairytale castle with a huge garden you wanted to get lost in could distract him for too long. The hurt was back in full force. 

After the four of them had decided to leave their luggage in the trunk for the time being, Jesse said that he _really_ needed to find the toilet and made his way up the grand stairs alone. He just needed to be alone for a few minutes before spending the rest of the night next to Marcus; their unsolved 'conflict' hovering over them and resulting in stilted conversations. Jesse couldn't wait!

The inside of the chateau was even more breathtaking than the front. The whole carpet was some kind of fine blue-green with little white dots. Huge, dark mable columns were holding up the beautifully adorned ceiling with a huge chandelier. Everything was _gleaming_. The stair-rails were a work of art in itself and Jesse just stood there and tried to take every little detail in. 

He took a deep breath and felt himself relax. He'd enjoy this stay here, regardless of everything going on. He could always wander through the chateau if it got too much. With that thought in mind he followed the signs to the Ballroom, where the wedding party would take place. 

 

At the entrance, Jesse bumped into Kyle, Kieran, Ruben and Alex who were talking about the flower arrangements of all things. He exchanged hugs with all of them and then joined them in gushing about the extravagant table decorations. Who would've guessed that some guys in their mid-twenties were arguing about the advantages of glass vases versus china vases? 

After a few minutes, a waiter offered each of them a glass of champagne, which they took thankfully, and asked them to please take a seat at their assigned table as the bride and groom were going to arrive in the next fifteen to twenty minutes. 

All the tables were arranged in an inner and an outer circle around the big dancefloor in the middle of the room. The newlyweds, their bridemaids and groomsmen were going to sit at a long table at one end of the dancefloor, with their closest family at the round tables right next to them. The arrangement made it possible for nearly everyone to see the couple and of course get to the dancefloor in a matter of seconds. 

They found their tables side by side in the inner circle, positioned directly opposite from the long table. Nice! Kyle, Kieran, Ruben and Alex sat down in the remaining seats on one table and Jesse walked towards his seat at the other table. Marcus, Eric and Dele were already sitting there, all of them with a glass of champagne in one hand.

He sat down next to Marcus and turned towards him to throw him a smile. "Let's talk about everything later!" he murmured while they clinked glasses. Marcus still didn't talk, but he nodded and that was as good as it'd get at the moment. 

"And here I was, thinking that someone would notice my gorgeous outfit and compliment me. What a silly dream of mine..." the woman next to him – who he evidently hadn't been aware of – said in a teasing tone, starting to laugh at her own 'greeting' right away. 

Jesse turned in his seat and smiled at her. "I'm so sorry, madame. Where were my manners?" he tried to mime a posh accent and took her hand to shake it. "You're forgiven, but only if we dance together tonight! You gotta promise me!" she winked and eventually let go of Jesse's hand. 

He was a bit taken aback by her obvious interest, but – in Fergie's words – a little party never killed nobody and Jesse might as well dance his heart out on the dancefloor tonight to distract himself from all his feelings and emotions. He'd have to confront them at some point of the night anyways. 

He quickly recovered from his awkward entrance and smiled at her: "You're lucky that my second name is Dancing King! ...Especially at weddings." She laughed at that, responding right away: "Well, then I gotta send Lydia and her wedding planer a huge fruit basket for seating us next to each other! By the way, I'm Jane." 

"Oh my... I'm sorry for not asking, I truly have no manners at all. I'm Jesse, but everyone loves to call me Jlingz." Jesse whispered the last part, acting as if he'd just told Jane a secret. And wow, 'flirting' (although you couldn't really call it that) actually came easy to him, but only when he wasn't interested. Even just thinking about flirting with Marcus sent him into cardic arrest, so this was kind of breather for him. 

Her answer was a snort. "I don't think that someone beside yourself calls you 'Jlingz'. Anyways, Jesse and Jane has a better ring to it!" Before Jesse could answer, music started to play and the bride and groom entered the room. 

Everyone stood up and welcomed them with loud clapping. For the first time since they'd clinked glasses, Jesse looked at Marcus, or more precisely his (beautiful) back in the fitting white dress shirt he was wearing. Yeah and God must really hate him, or else He wouldn't have placed a literal angel into Jesse's life and subsequently made that angel unavailable. It was unfair.

Slowly, the claps subsided and the guests sat down again. Then, the speeches began, ranging from boring and long-drawn (No thanks, Jesse did not want to know every detail of both their separate and joint time) to hilarious and over way too soon (the best man really knew how to make a entertaining story out of the small 'owl incident' the couple and him had had three years ago). 

 

Soon enough, the buffet opened up and the guests streamed to the adjacent room, where long tables full of everything a person could desire were set up. More than two dozen servers were standing behind the tables, giving out food. 

"Jess?" Marcus' voice and his poke in Jesse's arm interrupted his observations. "Mhm?" "Should I get us some food?" Marcus asked hesitantly and quickly went on: "I know what you like and if you're still hungry after that you can look for yourself... okay?" he smiled at Jesse for the first time in more than an hour (and _no_ Jesse hadn't kept track of that time) and Jesse could only nod, probably – most likely – looking like a loon. 

Then Marcus got up before Jesse could even say 'Thank you, ~~I love you~~ '.

Yet another poke in the arm, this time from Jane, kept him from further thinking about it. "Hey, I sadly don't know what you like, but I could get you something too" she proposed with a sweet smile. "Thanks for asking, but I think Marcus will get me everything!" "Urgh, you sportsmen and your bloody diet... I should've known." With that she got up and made her way to the buffet. 

Jesse was left alone, feeling taken aback. Today was just weird in every aspect.

He was about to pull out his phone to complain about _everything_ in his groupchat with Louie and Sunny, when Dele swiftly sat down next to him. Oh, so he hadn't been alone with Jane just a few moments ago. 

"Oh my god, Jesse! Why are you flirting with her??" Dele whispered with an air of accusation, repeatedly poking his arm. And could people please stop doing that?! He was going to bruise, god damn it. "I'm not flirting with her! It's called being a nice person, Jesus." Jesse whispered back. 

"Okay, then tell me why Marcus was looking fucking miserable the whole time you and her _talked_. Eric and me thought he'd start crying at any moment!" Jesse could only shrug, looking at his friend with a mix of anger, confusion and helplessness. Dele truly was a pain in the ass. 

"I don't _know_ , okay?! We hadn't had the time to exchange more than a few words since we've been here and he already has someone and I just don't know what to do! I don't know how to deal with all of this." Jesse gestured around himself wildly, his despair crystal-clear. He might as rip out a bit of his own hair for good measure. 

Dele quickly got up and hugged him as well as he could with Jesse still sitting in his chair. "Oh god, you're even dumber than me!" Jesse slapped his back for that but Dele just went on "I'm gonna show you something now but you gotta promise me to talk to him later! And please be honest with him, tell him what and how you feel. Be open! I know that's easier said than done, but it'll definitely be worth it." he sounded so insistent that Jesse just had to promise him, his head already spinning with the prospect of telling Marcus about everything. 

He didn't dare to ask why Dele was so sure that talking about his feelings would be worth it. 

Dele clapped his hands in excitement and showed Jesse his 'reward'. Dele and Eric had evidently taken a few sneaky pics of them walking out of the church arm in arm earlier. There hadn't been more than a few centimetres of space between them, Jesse perfectly fitting under Marcus' arm and Jesse's hand wrapped around Marcus' waist. Yeah, they just _fit_. 

He made Dele send him the picture, took one last look at it and quickly put his phone away. Marcus and Eric were approaching the table, both with two full plates of food. 

"Look at them chilling here while we were fighting for food over there. I don't know why we're even doing that." Eric told Marcus, loud enough for them to hear. "Because you loooove me" Dele began to sing, taking his plate from Eric and giving him a peck. It was all so natural for them and that made Jesse's heart ache. 

He was going to tell Marcus _tonight_ , before his feelings would eventually eat him alive. 

Marcus rounded the table and put down one plate in front of him. Jesse wanted to kiss him too. Instead of doing that, he thanked Marcus with a short handshake. 

As he looked down at their two plates next to each other, he immediately wanted to pull out his phone and record a video, just to show that Marcus was copying him again. The plates looked exactly the same. "Oh my god, everything's the same!" Jesse pointed between them. "Yeah, but I was the one who got us the food, so you're actually copying me!" Marcus answered, used to Jesse's accusations. Jesse wanted to go on with arguing, but decided to dig into his food before it'd get cold. 

Jane came back to the table a few minutes later and told all of them to enjoy their meal before she went quiet again and started to eat. That was, until a few minutes later, when Dele fed Eric a forkful of his 'delicious tenderloin'. 

"Oh aren't you two the cutest?" she started to gush. "Come on Jesse! We can at least try to upstage them!" Jane loaded her fork with some sort of beef and just as Jesse opened his mouth to ask what she was even trying to do, she sticked the fork into his mouth. Well, now he had to eat it. 

He must've looked really taken aback, because Jane started to laugh right away, saying that his face looked _so_ funny and that he should really see himself right now. Jesse joined her laughter, still too shocked to say anything. What were you supposed to say when an unfamiliar person basically force-fed you in front of your crush? Certainly not 'Thank you'. 

His friends were dead quiet, which made him feel uncomfortable and _guilty_. Jesse wasn't at fault, he knew that, but he still thought about all the ways he could've somehow prevented everything from happening. 

He didn't dare to look at Marcus, but he sent Dele and Eric – what he hoped to be perceived as – a desperate look. 

 

The bride and groom announced their first dance not too long after and Jesse relaxed for the first time since the 'fork incident' and just watched the beautiful first dance. Lydia and Josh hadn't rehearsed more than a few basic dance steps, which in retrospect had been the right decision, as they were so caught up in kissing and looking into each other's eyes. Nevertheless, it was a lovely dance and it got even better when Josh got hold of the mic at the end and told everyone to 'get off your asses and DANCE!!!'. 

And that was a request Jesse didn't need to be told twice. "Come on guys!! Let's go crazy!" he jumped out of his chair and raised his hands in the air, waving them around. Dele and Jane got up too and followed him to the dance floor, while Marcus declined with a shake of his head and Eric said that they'd join them in a bit. 

Jesse turned around to look at Marcus one more time and found him sitting next to Eric, the two of them having a rather intense conversation. If that was more important than dancing so be it. He'd ask Marcus again later, but now he just wanted to dance with his team mates.

 

Dele, Kyle, Kieran, Alex, Ruben, a few other guests and him began to dance in a rather big circle in the middle of the dance floor. Jesse let the music take over him; he moved to the rhythm of each new song and sang along when he felt like it, always trying to outsing Kyle and Alex. 

He felt at ease on the dance floor, free to dance however he liked to. And that was one of the reasons why Jesse liked to dance at parties: there was no wrong or right, as long as you felt good and didn't take up too much space, everything was fine. It was also something that Louie had taught him the night before he had gone to a club for the first time. 

A few of the other guests were throwing their group dirty looks – their dancing was a bit unconventional for sober people at a wedding – but they couldn't give less of a fuck. Life was far too short to not try to slow dance with your mates or belt out the wrong lyrics to a song. Jesse wanted to make the most of everything in life. 

Marcus and Eric were still engrossed in their conversation when Jesse looked over to them in the break between two songs. He was pretty sure that they'd gotten closer since the last time he'd looked their way, what with Eric having one hand on Marcus' shoulder and the other one somewhere under the table, most likely on Marcus' knee. 

A hot wave of jealousy surged up inside him, Jesse couldn't help it. It made him angry, that he saw _Eric_ of all people as a potential threat. Eric, who was head over heels in love with Dele and who had openly talked about marrying him today. Jesse was out of his mind for even thinking about Marcus and Eric as a possibility. But his jealousy hadn't gotten that particular memo. 

 

"Hello? Earth to Jesse! Is someone in there?" Jane was standing right in front of him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Yeah, yeah I'm here." she laughed and pulled Jesse to the edge of their circle. "Then keep your promise and dance with me for a bit!" 

Just then, ['I don't mind'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSKUXqJ5l1k) by Usher started up and Jane cheered. "That's one of my favourites!" she called out and then began to shake her hips and move her arms around. Jesse was more guarded than he'd been a few minutes ago, but he started to move too. One song and then he could ask Marcus to join him before they'd go somewhere quiet to talk. 

"Sing with me!" Jane waited for the chorus and then belted out "Shawty, I don’t mind if you dance on a pole that don’t make you a _hoe_. Shawty, I don’t mind when you work until three if you’re leaving with _me_..." Jesse laughed at her, but then joined her and sang the rest of the chorus. They kept up their dancing and occasional singing for the rest of the song. 

The DJ announced that the next song would be a slow one and that especially couples were invited to dance with their partner now. So, this was _the_ moment to go to their table and 'pick up' Marcus for this dance. It was a first step, but it would show him that Jesse was interested and if Marcus agreed to dance, that special person of his couldn't be that special. 

Jesse wanted to walk towards the table, but Jane grabbed his arm and held him back. "Oh come on Jesse, one more dance! I'll leave you alone after, deal?" she pleaded. Jesse knew that he should go and get Marcus, knew that he'd been alone on the dance floor for long enough now.

But Marcus was still debating animatedly with Eric, who now had a lapful of Dele. Marcus seemed to be okay and he didn't look like a lonely, miserable single. Plus, they still had time, so one dance surely would do no harm. 

Or so he thought. 

 

Jesse turned towards Jane. "Just so you know, I don't know how to dance with a partner. Thought that I should warn you." He kind of hoped that would put her off from trying to dance with him. "Oh don't worry. We're just gonna sway from left to right a bit... I don't want you stepping on my toes!" Jane reassured him just as the [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl7Hd2r0LOs) started to play. 

She promptly put her hands on his shoulders, looked down at him and smiled. Jane wasn't that much taller, but she was wearing high heels and well... Jesse felt somewhat intimidated, which was weird because he had always been 'the small one' and he had learned to just not care about that. 

Hesitantly, Jesse put his hands on her waist and they began to move. The song was perfect for people who couldn't dance, you could just slowly sway from one side to another and turn every once in a while and still not lose your rhythm. So the two of them did just that. 

The song was really romantic and as much as Jesse tried not to pay attention to the lyrics, he still got most of them. It also didn't help that Jane seemed to know the song by heart, singing it to him in a low voice: "I feel wonderful because I see the love light in your eyes. And the wonder of it all is that you just don't realize how much I love you..." 

Jesse had to swallow hard at that and maybe 'one more dance' was one dance too much. 

That fear proved itself true, as Jesse shot a look at their table. Marcus was no longer sitting there and while he could've gone to the loo, Dele and Eric's incessant waving which was no doubt directed at him made warning bells start to ring inside his head. Something bad was going on and he had to run to their table _right now_.

Jesse halted them by using his hands on her waist. Jane looked confused at the sudden interruption, but before she could ask about what was wrong he started to explain: "I'm sorry Jane, but a problem came up and I gotta fix it now and no it can't wait because I should've fixed it months ago and I didn't, so yeah. Excuse me!" 

He dashed towards Dele and Eric without waiting for an answer. There were more pressing matters at the moment. "Where is he??" Jesse called out to them. "We don't know! Suddenly, he got up and stormed out of here. I think he went outside because while you and her were dancing, he said that he needed some fresh air..." he had never heard Eric speak that fast before. 

"He got up about a minute ago, during your slow dance, and he looked absolutely devastated Jesse! The last time I've seen him like that was after the semi final in Russia! And there I had to pick him up from where he was lying on the pitch." Eric added in an insistent tone. 

"Go get him and work it out! And don't come back until you've talked it out!" Dele clapped him on the back and motioned towards the big entrance doors. He started to run. 

Jesse's mind was running a mile a minute and the only thing he knew was that he had to find Marcus as quick as possible. The problem was, that Marcus could be _anywhere_ inside the castle or in the huge garden. So Jesse tried to think like him, tried to recall all the places Marcus had gushed about during their drive, a fountain or a pond that he would like to see up close. 

 

All of a sudden, Jesse knew exactly where Marcus was. 

He jogged through the corridors, the entrance hall and then down the grand stairs into the back garden. It was already dark outside, the full moon was emitting a bit of light, but he still turned on his torch and went on. 

Jesse's sense of direction was awful, but after wandering around for a few minutes, he finally saw Marcus' figure on the small bridge over the pond, right were Jesse had expected him to be. Step one was done. 

"Beans!!" he called out, getting closer and closer to the bridge. Marcus turned around in shock, but then stood like a block of stone, making no move to run away and hide again. And that was good, Jesse concluded, because it had to indicate that Marcus would at least listen to him.

Jesse was right next to Marcus within a few seconds. "God, I'm so glad that I've found you here! I wouldn't have known where else to look." he breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here? I thought you were _dancing_?" Marcus spat out the last word and looked right into Jesse's eyes, waiting for his reaction. 

There was a fire in his eyes that Jesse had never seen before, not before any game and not even when Louie had beaten him at Fifa six times in a row, resulting in a broken controller. No, this fire was directed at him, Marcus wanted to show him how angry and hurt he was. 

"So? Are you waiting for her to come out here too, so she can introduce herself?" Marcus was shaking now, probably because of both his anger and the cold. "I don't even know what Jane's doing right now and I don't care, Marcus! I literally left her on the damn dance floor because I wanted to look for _you_." Jesse tried to calm Marcus down. 

Marcus shook his head, trying to process the information, and got one step closer to Jesse. Now they were standing right in front of each other, toe to toe, and Jesse started to feel warm again although they were both shaking from the cold. But standing this close to Marcus did the trick. 

"Okay, then tell me why you're here again." Marcus whispered, looking into his eyes, and it was then that Jesse realised that this was a 'now or never' moment, that this was the perfect moment to just kiss Marcus instead of stuttering through a love declaration while inevitably freezing to death. 

This was going to be the most important (and no, he wasn't exaggerating at all) first kiss in his history of first kisses, he knew that. 

 

So Jesse stood up on his tip toes, closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Marcus' in a soft kiss. He pulled back after a few seconds and put a bit of distance between their faces. Now, the ball was in Marcus' court. Jesse tried to gauge his reaction. 

Marcus seemed to be taken aback, and after a few seconds of silence Jesse began to seriously reconsider his move. Maybe he should've asked Marcus for a kiss. But no, he had been so sure of the 'signals' that he had just done it and now Marcus wasn't reacting in any way and that scared him. 

Just as Jesse was about to take a further step back, Marcus gripped his waist with one hand and pulled him against his body. "I really thought that I'd have to take the first step when you didn't try to kiss me again after your mom cockblocked us!" Marcus was still whispering and Jesse was so endeared by him, – his voice, his smile, his eyes, his _everything_ – that he kissed him again. 

Because Jesse could do that now, he could kiss Marcus whenever he wanted. They smiled at each other and then Marcus leant down a bit and gave him a more lingering kiss, their lips touching for several moments, before both of them had to smile again. 

Kissing Marcus felt heavenly. His lips were so soft, plush and warm, that Jesse had to force himself to pull away for a small break or for a smile. Also, Marcus was so responsive to every touch from Jesse, like when he had – for example – put his hand to the back of Marcus' head and Marcus had hummed into the kiss and Jesse had wanted to jump for joy at discovering a thing that Marcus liked.

He couldn't wait until he got to discover and learn all about all the other places where Marcus liked to be touched. But for now, he was perfectly happy with feeling Marcus' lips on his and being so close to him. Everything else would come gradually. 

They kissed there, right on the bridge with the moon as their only witness, until Jesse felt like his legs and arms were going to turn into icicles within a few more moments. "Can we please go inside again before I freeze my balls off?" he asked Marcus with chattering teeth. "Oh my god, why didn't you tell me that you were cold? Let's go!" 

Marcus grabbed Jesse's hand and together, they started running back towards the chateau. They both gave a loud whoop when they reached the top of the stairs and stepped inside the warm entrance hall. Yeah, this was much better than the outside. 

"Follow me!" Marcus said and pulled Jesse along by their joined hands. They went upstairs and Marcus led him into an open room with four plush settees around a glass table. He let go of Jesse's hand and sat down on the biggest one, patting the space next to him. 

Jesse jumped at the invitation and nestled against Marcus right away. He knew that they were going to talk now and he wanted to take Dele's words to heart, wanted to be honest with Marcus. It somehow felt much less daunting now that they'd kissed. 

 

"Soo, you have a crush on me?" were Marcus' first words which sounded like a question. Jesse burst out laughing and then kissed away Marcus' pout. "Of course I have a crush on you! Just ask all of my friends. They've been listening to me talk about and gush over you for a while now and Dele really urged me to talk to you while Eric and you were getting food, so they know." Jesse told him. 

Marcus relaxed at that and put his right arm around Jesse's shoulder, stroking his fingers down Jesse's neck. And wow, God must really love him because He put the sweetest and most affectionate angel into Jesse's life and that angel _liked_ him! 

"And you, do you have a crush on me?" Jesse asked, mainly as a joke but there was still a note of uncertainty. "Are you joking me??" Marcus looked incredulous. "I've been seriously crushing on you for more than a year now. From the beginning, from when I joined the first team, you've been there for me and I think that... uhm... I've always had a little crush on you. And we spend so much time together and sometimes I wonder how I'm never tired of you. I found the answer." He sounded so shy, that Jesse just had to crane his neck and kiss him. 

"Go on! I wanna hear more about how you realised that you really like me." Marcus poked his arm for that but went on: "Uhm... you are such a brilliant player and I've sorta looked up to you from the start. And you had to see something in me too because you were always by my side, cheering me up when I felt down and keeping my mood up after a win or just a great day. And that helped and still helps me a lot!" Jesse snuggled impossibly closer and Marcus went on.

"And I think that one day, it just clicked. I can't even remember when exactly, but one day we were sitting on your couch after training – as usual –, and you looked so cute and I thought 'We could be kissing right now' and I was shocked because you were my best friend! I started thinking about it more and more, so I tried to drop a few hints to see if you were interested too, but you were only sending me mixed signals. Then, I came to the conclusion that you only wanted me as a best friend, and this evening had sort of confirmed it for me... until you came outside." Marcus stopped and gave Jesse time to process his words. 

Processing was definitely needed! So firstly, Marcus had basically been crushing on him for more than two years, which was mind-blowing in itself. Secondly, Marcus had been dropping hints (?!) which Jesse hadn't picked up on. He was completely at a loss. 

Therefore, Jesse decided to ask Marcus about them. "Oh the hints? Uhm well, sometimes I'd drop them kinda unconsciously, like when we were play-fighting and I'd go still under you and I'd try to tell you – telepathically, of course – that you could kiss me... if you wanted." Both of them began to laugh, because the image of Marcus chanting 'Kiss me, kiss me' inside of his head was both cute and funny. "What else?" 

"Oh god, this is going to be so embarrassing, but I... uhm... pretended to fall asleep on you a few times just to see how you'd react; wake me up or let me 'sleep on'. You never woke me up." Marcus rushed out and turned his head away, avoiding Jesse's gaze. 

And nope, Jesse didn't want Marcus to beat himself up over something that sweet. So he promptly got up, only to sit down on Marcus' lap, so that they were facing each other. Jesse cupped Marcus' face with both his hands and made Marcus look at him. "Why are you turning away? It's not embarrassing at all. It's cute! I rather think that I'm the one who should be embarrassed because I made us watch sad films in hopes that you'd cuddle me!" 

Marcus giggled at that and everything was fine again. "We are both gone for each other, huh?" Marcus concluded and Jesse had to agree with that. "Can you please kiss me again?" he added and seconds later their lips were touching again. Jesse really loved the position they were in and not only because of the obvious body contact. Overall, it just felt nice and intimate. 

 

Marcus broke the kiss after a while and Jesse reacted with a small whine, but he pulled himself together right away. Yeah, Jesse didn't want to stop kissing Marcus, so what? However, they hadn't quite finished their conversation just yet, so he sat up straight again. 

"You haven't told me how you realised that you have a crush on me!" Marcus said and Jesse began to talk: "I didn't have one huge moment of realization either. It all started with me being super proud of you for being a true wonderkid, because no one else scores in every debut they have!" he laughed, then went on. 

"But you stayed so humble, you always knew that you had to improve further and I think that attitude drew me in. We started to set these little targets before every game and it felt good that no one besides us got to know about them. They're our little secret. God, I'm rambling again!" Marcus quickly assured him that he liked his rambling (most of the time) and squeezed his hand as a sign that Jesse could continue. 

"I've always loved to wind you up and it's my way to make you smile or to distract you from things that weigh you down. And I realised that it also makes me happy, when you laugh at one of my jokes. And that sort of got me thinking and I noticed more; you're one of the only people who can get me to calm down and it feels like something's missing whenever you're not by my side for more than a few days. When you came to Miami this summer, I was so happy to have you there, I was counting down the days! And I thought 'Isn't that a bit obsessive? We've just spent more than a month together!'" Marcus laughed out loud at the last bit and confessed that his brothers had had to take away his phone sometimes, so that he wouldn't text him. 

Jesse was kind of glad that both of them were equally obsessed with spending time with each other. 

He told Marcus more, a lot about his feelings during the last few months, his fears and hopes, and the constant question in the background 'Do we both want more or am I projecting my feelings onto my best friend?'. Marcus didn't interrupt him, but made sure that Jesse knew that he was listening by nodding his head or humming softly from time to time. 

All along, he also stroked his beautiful hands up and down Jesse's dressed back and his sides and Jesse was sure that he hadn't been that close to heaven in a long time. 

 

They've been sitting on the settee for nearly one and a half hours, when Marcus' mobile started to ring. Eric's name flashed on the display, so they anwered the call. "Oh thank God, you're alive!" Eric greeted him. Then, Dele's voice came through: "Is Jesse with you? Is he alive too? Have you talked yet? Talk to us NOW! ... Please." In the background they could hear Eric telling him to give back his mobile. 

Marcus and him laughed at that and then each said a quick 'Hi, I'm fine.' into the phone. Jesse gave their friends a quick rundown of the events on the bridge and their conversation on the sofa. Dele and Eric sounded absolutely elated over the speaker, but told them to come back down now, so that they could finally dance together. 

Right as Marcus was about to hang up, Eric got back in control of the phone to congratulate them again: "I'm just so happy for you two! Everyone knew that it has been a long time coming, but sometimes you just need a bit of time to work through your shit and that's fine. And now, both of you have put your cards on the table and you can take it from there! It's not always easy, but it's definitely worth it." Dele's 'Aww, babe' was the last thing they heard before the line cut off. 

Jesse wanted to get up immediately, however, Marcus held onto his thighs. "I've got one more question and then we can go dancing." Jesse nodded and looked at him. "Why did you dance to that slow song with her? I had really hoped that you'd come and get me, you know?" 

The answer was so simple, that Jesse didn't need to think about it. He took Marcus' hands into his and began to talk: "It all started in the car when we were talking about that article. I doubted the figure Eric was going on about and then you said you believed it, because you were sure that you had already met your future partner and I started to panic. And then you didn't answer me, so I felt like I had to accept that you already had someone else and move on." 

"Oh god, I knew it!" Marcus said triumphantly. "I don't even know why I tried it, Jess. I already knew you were bad at taking hints, so... But I was looking at you while talking about that someone, I really _hoped_ that you'd get it this time, but you sorta freaked out and I decided to just tell you everything after the party. I didn't want to have an audience!" 

Jesse was the first one to start laughing, Marcus joining in after taking a quick breath. 

"Can we just conclude that we're both quite dense? And that we should've both spoken up much sooner instead of trying to only hint at our feelings for this long?" he asked Marcus, who was quick to agree. They kissed one last time, then got up and walked back downstairs hand in hand. 

 

Marcus and him entered the ballroom and promtly ran into Jane and Kyle. Judging by their warm jackets and the two blankets in Kyle's arm, they were about to go outside. "Oh hey Jesse! Looks like you solved your problem." Kyle gave them a thumbs up, while she looked down at their linked hands and then smiled at them. "Good luck, cuties!" And with that, Jane pulled Kyle away, not leaving any time to say 'Thank you'. Oh well, maybe they'd see her again later...

Jesse guided Marcus to their table with a hand on his back. Dele and Eric had obviously been waiting for them, because they jumped up right away and went in for a group hug. "Oh my god you're glowing guys!" Eric said right away and gave both of them a clap on the back. 

"Remember when we had that 'Freshly in love' glow, hun?" Dele added with a cheesy smile. By the look Eric threw him, they still seemed to have it. "I'm so happy for you two! From now on you'll be the second best official couple in the national team. But maybe you'll get first place at Man United!" he grinned. 

"You're literally the worst Dele!" Jesse answered. Next to him, Marcus began to laugh and Jesse had no choice but to kiss Marcus again. He was not used to getting to do that just yet, but it already felt good and _right_. Their friends were outright cooing at them and Jesse decided that it was time to dance now. 

The DJ was playing a great mix of older (Queen, Abba, Micheal Jackson and many more) and more recent (Drake, DJ Khaled, Luis Fonsi...) songs and although they usually listened to other things, they had a lot of fun. 

Apparently, Marcus and him had missed the wedding cake, so they shared a chocolate and a raspberry cupcake in a small dance break. It had been a while since Jesse had last kissed someone after eating chocolate, but now he wanted to do it at least once or twice a week.

They also talked to Ruben and Alex, who told them that Dele had already sent a picture and a video of them (Jesse sitting on Marcus' lap during another short break, the two of them arguing about a shirt that Jesse had apparently stolen from Marcus) into their Three Lions groupchat. Marcus and him would have to read through all the reactions tomorrow. 

 

At half past three a.m., the DJ announced that he'd play the last song of the night now, before the guests had to make do with a playlist. Of course, the last song was special request of the bride and groom. He added, that he wanted to see every couple on the dancefloor and that people without a partner should grab one of their friends and dance with them. 

Marcus and him got up for their last dance of the night, before they'd fetch their luggage from Eric's car and make their way upstairs. Today had been a roller-coaster ride from start to finish and both of them were completely knackered. 

They got into position without even thinking about where and how to place their arms, it felt as if they'd danced like that a thousand times before. Marcus' right hand was resting on Jesse's back and Jesse did the same thing with his left hand. Marcus took Jesse's free hand into his, while Jesse put his head on Marcus' chest and relaxed. 

Oh, what he would give to stay in that position forever. Marcus was so warm and he smelled great, even after all the stress and the dancing (okay maybe Jesse was _a bit_ biased in that matter, but being in love made every sense operate differently when it came to your person, that much was clear). 

The opening bars of Elvis Presley's ['Can't help falling in love'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU) began to play out through the speakers and Marcus tightened his hold on Jesse's back. 

They swayed in time with the song and after the first few lines, Jesse felt brave enough to quietly sing parts of the lyrics to Marcus:  
"Like a river flows, surely to the sea... Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be... Take my hand, take my whole life too... _For I can't help falling in love with you!_ " 

Neither of them had said the L-word during their prior talk, both only talking about 'crushes', but Jesse knew that his feelings for Marcus went deeper, he knew that he was in love with Marcus. 

The song was over far too soon but they stayed in their embrace, even when the DJ read out his thank-you speech to the couple and all the other guests and they all started to applaud. 

 

"Just so you know, I'm in love with you too, Jess" Marcus whispered. Immediately, Jesse lifted his head from Marcus' chest and looked up at him with a smile so big that Jesse feared it could split his face in half. He was okay with that, though. Because he was in love with Marcus and Marcus loved him back! They were _invincible_!

"I love you so much!" Jesse got out, before the urge to kiss Marcus took him over and he pressed his lips against Marcus'. From the first contact on, this kiss felt different than the ones before. The calm and soft presses of their lips against each other were replaced by a need to get closer and closer. 

So Jesse gave in and opened his mouth just a little bit, so that his tongue could touch the seam of Marcus' lips. Marcus parted his lips right away – cupping Jesse's jaw with one hand – so Jesse slid his tongue into Marcus' mouth and touched it with his own.  
The touch felt so heady, that Jesse forgot everything else around him. Their little bubble was the only thing that was existing in this moment, the only thing that was of importance. Everything around them was just trivial; a second-rate happening, not worth focusing on. 

They kissed like that for much longer than probably acceptable in public, but it was close to four a.m. now and Jesse was sure that no one gave a fuck about a PG snogging session at the edge of the dancefloor. 

When Jesse finally managed to pull away, but not before giving Marcus' lower lip a small suck, he opened his eyes only to find Marcus starring at him with a stunned expression. "Uhm.. you're a really good kisser and your lips are so _nice_..." he murmured and reverently ran his thumb over Jesse's bottom lip. He gave it a little kiss and Marcus' eyes crinkled. 

"Maybe we should go up to our room now, no?" Marcus breath hitched and Jesse cleared his throat before quickly adding "...to sleep!" He didn't want to rush into this relationship with Marcus, because he wasn't that experienced when it came to more than kissing with men and Marcus seemed like he wasn't either. 

"Sleep sounds nice!" Marcus answered, so they got Eric's key, quickly fetched their luggage from his trunk and made their way to their bedroom. 

 

When they got there, Marcus and him were too tired to take in the beautifully crafted furniture and the ornate details inside the room. Instead, they dropped their bags in front of the bed and jumped onto the bed together. The mattress was so perfect that Jesse didn't want to get up again to brush his teeth and change into comfy clothes. 

He wanted to wrap up in the blankets on the bed and not come out until he absolutely had to. 

"Get up Jess! We're gonna brush our teeth now, because we're responsible adults." Marcus poked him in the rips. "What's my reward? We havin' a snog after?" a mischievous smile made its way onto Jesse's face. "Yeah we can, but you'll have to hurry up or I'll fall asleep!" 

Jesse jumped up from the bed and sprinted into the en-suite bathroom. Marcus laughed, but got up too and followed him into the bathroom with both of their toothbrushes in one hand. Jesse gave him a peck for that and began to brush his teeth. 

About ten minutes later, they were lying next to each other, both clad in pants and a soft tee-shirt. Jesse had nicked his from Marcus, so it was a bit big, but that made it even more perfect. Oh, and it smelled like Marcus, which was Jesse's real reason for borrowing it. 

Marcus and him both turned onto their sides and got close. Now it was time for Jesse to get his reward. They kissed and touched each other, until Marcus nearly yawned into a kiss. It was definitely time to sleep then. 

 

They exchanged one last kiss and I love you's, then Jesse closed his eyes. He fell asleep while listening to Marcus' breathing and he wouldn't change it for anything. 

 

At midday, Jesse woke up to Marcus lying half on top of him, with his head right over Jesse's heart and an arm across his chest. It was the cutest thing Jesse had ever seen and he spent the time it took for Marcus to also wake up by just looking at his person, his _boyfriend_ in awe. 

Oh how he looked forward to every single morning he'd wake next to Marcus! Oh how he looked forward to memorizing the way Marcus' skin felt, the way his eyelashes looked in his sleep or the way his lips moved in his sleep sometimes. 

 

Jesse would never get bored, he knew that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you liked it and I'd be really happy/thankful if you left a kudos and/or a comment.  
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://deledier.tumblr.com/) and cry about Jesse and Marcus with me♥


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